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By: Lieba Nesis
The Hamptons continues to amaze as one magical gala after another draws thousands to this South Fork enclave. Real Estate inventory is scarce so news that media power couple Chris Mitchell and Pilar Guzman, editorial director of Oprah Daily, were listing their 9,000 square foot East Hampton home for $25 million was greeted with muted enthusiasm. Having purchased the property for $9.5 million in 2021 when Hampton prices were the steepest it seems unrealistic to nearly triple the price. However, they are renovating a nearby carriage house necessitating their imminent move.
Speaking of powerhouse media operatives, Thursday August 3rd Schneps Media owner, Vicki Schneps, Owner of more than 91 press outlets, gathered 300 attendees to celebrate the “50 Power Women of the East End” who make Long Island an extraordinary venue for fearless females to do business. Jacqueline Murphy, an award winning actress, director and filmmaker is one such woman, as her series “The Admired” won over 50 film festival awards. Fellow award recipient and New York Housewife Ramona Singer joined for the festivities as they sashayed down the red carpet. A cocktail hour at the magnificent Muses venue along with a three course meal, limited speeches and the jovial atmosphere made this $250 event the bargain of the summer. The icing on the cake was the acknowledgement that 100 percent of the raffle proceeds from Schneps Media was being donated to the New York Cancer Foundation.
Friday evening was equally activity filled as Qannati jewelers joined forces with Hampton Sheet at the delectable Blu Mar restaurant to preview wondrous Objets d’Art. Publicist Norah Lawlor who is dominating the Hamptons summer with Polo, French Heritage, Prostate Cancer, Valentino, and Chabad events made sure photos and food were aplenty. The Guild Hall Gala honoring trustee Ken Wyse was also on schedule at East Hampton’s Mulford Farm Friday night along with a Rand Luxury Ferrari event held Saturday afternoon at the Fishel estate.
The Fishels along with Lawlor and 500 top notch Hamptonites spent $200 for a delightful brunch and Ferrari car preview which benefited the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Southampton Animal Shelter. Georgina Bloomberg and her two children enjoyed the lavish afternoon and there was even a top secret $100,000 purchase of a Qannati watch. If you were hoping for a more relaxed Saturday night-forget about it. The Southampton Hospital held its annual tented shindig which had “a Night at the Colony Hotel” theme-combining old school Palm Beach elegance with modern Hamptons excitement is a perfect amalgam. Floridians Howard Lorber and Audrey Gruss enjoyed the lavish evening where $1,500 tickets were sold out weeks in advance.
The best cause of Saturday evening was hands down the St. Jude Hope in the Hamptons Gala which was similarly sold out at a much more reasonable $500 per ticket. Held at the Southampton Meadow Lane home of billionaires Marjorie and Michael Loeb this event was one of those wows. St. Jude, a Children’s Research Hospital that provides cost free treatment, travel, housing and food for ailing children and their families, is the brainchild of entertainer Danny Thomas who founded it in 1962.
Hearing the heartbreaking story of nephrologist Khurram Mehtabdin’s five week old daughter Imani who nearly died of a brain tumor until St. Jude stepped in left the spellbound crowd in tears. His daughter who has been cancer free since 2020 helped move attendees to donate over a half a million dollars to this pivotal organization. Advisory firm Marcum LLP underwrote the event as its charitable arm Marcum Foundation is St. Jude’s national charity partner of choice. Executive Director Tracy Weiner danced enthusiastically while reveling in the success of an unforgettable evening.
Plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Norman Rowe, who has offices in New Jersey, the Hamptons and New York joined his magnificent wife Mia, in donating both services and money to the cause. Rowe noted the thousands of lives St. Jude has impacted. The evening concluded at 11:30 PM and I took a $200 one hour uber to the new Talya’s Montauk to check out the nightclub scene.
Montauk is hopping, with clubs, bars and restaurants catering to millennials who can’t get enough of the lively scene. Gurney’s, Bounce, The Point Bar, Memory Motel and Surf Lodge are a couple of the hotspots lurking in this nighttime venue. Despite numerous celebrity sightings in the Hamptons of JLo who purchased an “Woke Up Sexy as Hell Again” t-shirt at Southampton Surf Shop for husband Ben Affleck, who prefers Dunkin’ donuts attire, and a Jerry Seinfeld and family spotting at ice cream mecca A La Mode in East Hampton on Sunday evening in a 1968 Volkswagen bus; the only luminary I spotted this weekend was Rachel Zoe.
However, hope remains as summer and its soirées are nowhere near over, with Diabetes, Prostate and Breast Cancer Galas, Chabad and Animal Rescue events just a tiny sampling of what lies in store during the next thirty days. If you are too busy socializing to tend to household chores for $160 an hour you can hire “The Hamptons Runner” to shop and deliver food to your abode. While most food, clothing and drug store shopping in the Hamptons shuts at 5 PM the one emporium that remains open until midnight is the Sag Harbor book shop. As the overcrowded Hamptons suffers major internet outages, I headed over to peruse the eclectic reading selection and see if I could grab some much needed WIFI-mission not accomplished.
